Censorship
Television networks like ABC, NBC & CNN refused to air President Donald Trump’s prime-time address on election integrity claiming his statements “could not be trusted.” CNN has spent years branding itself as “The Most Trusted Name in News.” Apparently, the network now believes that trust runs so deep that viewers no longer need to hear what the president actually says. CNN will listen for them, decide what matters, and provide an approved summary afterward. This is what happens in Canada. Only there the government decides what the public is allowed to hear.
CNN’s John King explained that the network was “not going to take it live” because Trump “has a history of misleading.” Instead, CNN would monitor the speech and reduce it to a collection of bullet points for its audience.
In most other situations, this would be called editorial censorship. When the president delivers a nationally televised address on a major political issue, the normal role of a news network is to broadcast it, provide context, and then analyze or challenge any disputed claims. CNN skipped the first part entirely. It decided viewers should receive the network’s interpretation without being given a chance to hear the source material for themselves.
So, these networks kept the information from the public about vulnerabilities in our electoral process. Why?
How often have these networks refused to air speeches from previous Presidents? Hmmm. This may be unprecedented. Perhaps previous Presidents always told the truth when they spoke to the American people. Let’s look at the record.
As it turns out, the networks have a history of airing reports that have been proven false. They also have a history of misrepresenting events they cover.
Let’s look at some examples.